F1 Team Were Allowed To Use Exact Copy of Rivals' Car After FIA Ruling
A Formula 1 team were allowed to use an exact copy of part of a rival car after receiving permission from the FIA.
The incident occurred during the COVID-affected 2020 season, when the race calendar was shortened and a series of short-notice regulatory changes were introduced.
The season was due to begin with the Australian Grand Prix in March, but the race was cancelled hours before Friday practice due to a number of positive COVID tests being recorded.
When the rescheduled season got underway in July, it was Mercedes and particularly Lewis Hamilton who set the pace.
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Hamilton, along with team-mate Valtteri Bottas and Red Bull's Max Verstappen, finished on the podium together in eight of the 17 races that were held that season.
While Ferrari had challenged for wins and even championships in the preceding years, they endured a nightmare 2020 as their car was considerably off the pace.
Instead, it was Racing Point who effectively replaced them as the third-fastest team.
Sergio Perez won the Sakhir Grand Prix for his maiden F1 race victory, while team-mate Lance Stroll took pole in the rain-affected Turkish Grand Prix and led for the first stint before strategy errors saw him slip down the field.
Perez scored points in every race he competed in except for two retirements, and had already secured second place in Turkey before his race win.
Stroll, meanwhile, recorded a pair of third-placed finishes in Imola and Sakhir.
Racing Point's performances were not a major surprise to rival teams as, despite finishing seventh in the previous season's Constructors' Championship, they had shown significant pace during testing.
Almost immediately after pre-season testing, rival team Renault planned to lodge a protest against the legality of the Racing Point, claiming that the team had copied a rear brake duct design from Mercedes.
Most F1 car parts are classified as 'listed', meaning that teams must design their own versions of that part.
Brake ducts became listed ahead of the 2020 season, with Renault executive director Martin Budkowski claiming that the brake ducts 'front and rear that are used on the Racing Point are effectively a Mercedes design, and so have been designed by another competitor'.
He added: "Brake ducts are a listed part, because they are a performance differentiator as they're an aerodynamically sensitive component.
"And they are also pretty crucial in controlling tyre temperatures, which we know is a fairly major performance differentiator in F1."
The protest was lodged by Renault after the second Grand Prix of the season in Styria, with the FIA subsequently announcing their own investigation into the Racing Point.
Before the fourth race of the season at Silverstone, the FIA announced it had found that Racing Point copied the rear brake ducts from the 2019 Mercedes car.
They were docked 15 points in that season's Constructors' Championship - a punishment that ultimately cost them third place to McLaren, who finished seven points ahead - and were fined €400,000.
However, despite the outcome of the investigation, the FIA permitted Racing Point to continue using the illegal ducts.
Renault team principal Cyril Abiteboul said that an 'advantage was obviously obtained' by the team, with McLaren team principal Zak Brown stating: "They claimed they had copied the car via photography. It's clear from reading the document that is BS.
"I am concerned they still have what was deemed illegal in Austria on the race car now. I think that is confusing for the fans."
“They claimed they had copied the car via photography. It’s clear from reading the document that is BS. So you have to question everything else around the car. I am concerned they still have what was deemed illegal in Austria on the race car now. I think that is confusing for the fans.”
Ferrari announced they would appeal the decision, with then team principal Mattia Binotto - who has a background in engineering - stating: "We believe it is not possible to copy and simply understand the full concept behind the car."
Ryan Smart